With the relatively recent advent of widespread access to on-line computer information and services, collectively referred to as the Internet, computer users are able to obtain a wide variety of information which is delivered directly into their homes. All that is necessary to access the Internet is a computer with modem or interfacing capability, a telephone line, and a telephone port or jack.
To meet the demand for Internet information, there has also been a proliferation of Internet services and access software packages which allow a user to move through or browse the available on-line options. This has made it very easy for users to obtain the information they need. Internet users are not only adults, but children as well, and ironically, children, as a class, are probably more computer literate than many adults due to the great amount of exposure to computers that children now receive at an early age. The user-friendly atmosphere of the Internet allows children with even minimal computer skills to access information at defined "sites" which are related to a particular topic. Other electronic sites, such as bulletin boards, may also be accessed with a computer having modem capabilities.
Unfortunately, not all information sites contain material which is suitable for children. Pornographic material, for example, is abundant on the Internet, and children can access and view pornographic pictures much the same way that they might view pictures in a pornographic magazine. While access to magazines and other printed materials is limited to adults, access to Internet pornography is not so limited. As may be appreciated child access to pornography through the Internet is an alarming concern for parents and other adults, such as educators, who do not want their own children or children in their care exposed to pornography.
Additionally, pornographic materials and sites are not the only informational avenues to which parents and other adults would like to restrict their children's access. The Internet also provides access to information regarding body piercing, child pornography, violent topics, and other similar information which would be detrimental to the proper mental and physical development of a child. Seemingly innocuous chat groups on the Internet may also expose a child to harmful adult topics. Chat groups are not only mentally dangerous to children but also physically dangerous, as evidenced by a recent incident wherein a child was abducted by a pedophile who he met and talked with over the Internet.
Therefore, parents and other adults have a substantial interest in preventing children from accessing the Internet through their computers. This is becoming ever more difficult, since personal and home computers are very popular and are becoming more widespread, much the same way that television did in the 1950's and 1960's . Parents' frustrations are further exacerbated by the fact that personal computers are usually placed in a home office, bedroom, or other designated room and are not readily visible to a supervising adult. A child may be accessing parentally-restricted information right under the nose of a parent.
While censorship efforts have been made to prevent certain categories of materials from appearing on or being accessible through the Internet, they have been generally unsuccessful. Despite the possible harm to children from these materials, First Amendment arguments and concerns have prevented the removal of the above-discussed material from the Internet. Furthermore, since adults and children share the same access to such materials, widespread database prevention for children at the source will inevitably prevent adults access to information which arguably should be available to them. Therefore, parents and other adults are left with the task of preventing children from accessing certain Internet materials.
Furthermore, not only are parents and adults interested in preventing Internet access to potentially damaging and harmful materials, but they are also interested in preventing any additional Internet access at all. Since Internet access can cost money, an unsupervised child may run up large amounts of costs playing around on the Internet. Internet shopping is also a concern, as companies offer numerous products for sale over the Internet which require only a credit card number. In the case of some on-line services, they may already have the parent's credit card number and all that a child has to do is make the order. Not a few parents have been unpleasantly surprised by large telephone or credit card bills directly related to their child's access to the Internet. Finally, a parent may simply be interested in preventing a child from spending too much time on the computer to the detriment of their school work or other activities, such as sports.
A simple solution to preventing a child's access to the Internet would be to remove the computer and lock it away until a child may be supervised by an adult. Such a solution is not only impractical, but it is also inconvenient. Computers are usually bulky and heavy and are not easy to move around. Furthermore, the various peripherals such as printers, monitors and phone line connections will constantly have to be disconnected and then reconnected each time that the computer is to be used. Still further, removing the computer prevents adult use and non-Internet use. Computers are very useful tools and are used by adults and children alike for a number of constructive tasks such as accounting, document generation and homework. Locking the computer away prevents such constructive use. Even when the computer is to be constructively used, such as by a child for homework, most parents do not want to have to stand behind the child or even stay in the same room to prevent Internet access altogether or to prevent access to undesirable or adult materials.
Efforts have been made to prevent Internet access while leaving the computer in a usable condition or mode, as evidenced by co-pending U.S. application, Ser. No. 08/699,622. While such efforts are successful as an economical way in which to prevent Internet access without disabling the entire computer, they also prevent use of other desirable modem functions, such as fax capabilities and voice/message capabilities.
Therefore, it is an objective of the present invention to assist parents and other adults in preventing a child's exposure to harmful and undesirable information available on the Internet.
It is another objective of the invention to restrict unsupervised access to the Internet to reduce the monetary costs associated therewith.
It is still another objective to provide to an adult such restrictive measures without substantial modification to or removal of a computer to allow constructive use of a computer by a child.
It is another objective to restrict Internet access while leaving incoming fax and voice capabilities of the computer intact.
It is another objective to provide assistance to adults in a relatively inexpensive and easily understood manner so that restrictive measures may be implemented without substantial financial or time expenditures by an adult.
It is still another objective to restrict a child's access to the Internet in a way which is not easily or readily overcome or bypassed by the child.
It is another objective to provide a parent the ability to restrict Internet access without knowing how to use a computer.